Yumesaki-san and Manaka-san, both sisters as Tops, haha ^.^

haha, just read that Manaka-san who is to become the next Snow Top Musumeyaku is Yumesaki-san's younger sister. funny, I never noticed any resemblance... but even funnier, a 'family business', really

economical Takarazuka management ~ what a waste!

while photoshopping the 'Algiers no Otoko' and 'Dance Romanesque' programme I noticed an interesting photo

well, I do include all the pages which do concern Zuka even a little bit, such as ads with Takarazuka Theatres Buildings, or Nono-san advertising some Ikeda bank deposit (?)... and I do include the pages with performances schedule. so

this is the Top Combi portrait from the 'Kamen no Otoko' section of the schedule

and suddenly I remembered an Aono-sama photo from SP. of course, searching for it in my folder with several thousands images is a waste of time so I made two screenshots myself. unfortunately I failed to capture a moment where the skirt can be seen clearly, but this is enough, I think

the jewelry and the hat (or how is it called in English?) are different

well, usually I am particularly bad at memorizing anything I see, including faces, clothes, etc. - maybe, if not for my love towards SP, I would never notice such a thing. but I did. I am surprised with myself... and even more with Zuka. on the other hand, of course, this dress was only used in one scene, and 'twould be a waste to never use it again since 'tis beautiful. perhaps this is the famous もったいない philosophy which I only support

the only thing bothering me is - did they alter the dress for Yumesaki-san's figure? not that this bothers me much, simply interested a bit

my humble opinion: 'Bolero' by Star Troupe (2010)

did I say I like revues more than musicals sometimes? oh, I did...

then... did I say sometimes the worse the musical, the better the revue? I did... 

this is the case proving my conclusion once again. well, I might be the only one who thinks this way, but I enjoy watching Yuzuki-sama and Nene-chan being so cute and smiling happily, instead of trying to make the audience shudder with awe or weep for the characters... I am speaking of the 'spring' scene in particular.

if only anyone explained me what Africa has to do with bolero... well, I like the scene where the guys are shot, and then Yuzuki-sama sayth nobody will die today ^.^
concerning the covers for this time, 'tis the 'adagio' by Albinoni sung by Nene-chan and an unknown to me song in Spanish (as far as I have heard) that is mixed with it. oh, and classics also becomes a victim of the Zuka's love for covering. and what really maketh me hate myself is that I do not remember the name of the melody played when the girls wearing white dresses with fans in their hands and Yuzuki-sama (also in white) dance on the stairs >___< the otokoyaku dance this time is also a really brave decision for a revue, as it covers the famous masterpiece toccata&fuga. I am not totally sure 'tis a must do, even for Zuka, which pretends to be 'pure proper and beautiful'.
surprise-surpriiiise, I did not like the Bolero itself. IMHO, it had too much energy expressed, while it should have been much more subtle, especially in the beginning, when the melody is quite quiet. oh, sorry for the unexpected words play ^^`
I was so bored watching the dance that I even dared to think of some funny comments, the thing I do every time I see something interesting in my life. this time 'twas something like 'hey, Nene, dost thou know that Yuzuki-sama is cheating on thee? moreover, with an otokoyaku?' I hope no one is hurt by my remark, blame my imagination, it frequently spins out of control...
and one more thing that bothers me every time. who is responsible for the clothes design? I would like to say 'tis almost always perfect, and beautiful, etc... but sometimes it makes me wonder if there is a sacramental meaning I do not get. I mean, Yuzuki-sama wears a brown costume with golden stripes, and everybody else is wearing a golden costume with brown sleeves, and 'tis absolutely beautiful, but then enters Nene-chan in... a lilac dress. wha?
concerning the ending... 'twas the longest saying goodbye to the public I have ever seen! I love when they do not leave the stage as soon as they finish the performance, and if I were a big fan of the Troupe I would certainly be happy with such a repeating curtain fall-rise. as I am not, I was simply enjoying the fun. Yuzuki-sama is so funny, when kumichou was announcing the siennas that were born in Osaka ^.^

conclusion
a funny thing to watch and relax, as there are not many serious or sad topics concerned

my humble opinion: ’Passion: Jose and Carmen’ by Star Troupe (2010)

love triangles... love squares... erm... love pentagons?

what I recall in such moments is the line from 'You're Not All Alone' song (ending theme from Sol Bianca the legacy) - 'it's all right, I'm aware, life is fair'. 'tis really so. there are such things. many of them. 'tis ok. should be, at least...

'tis I who is not ok at all. having started with 'saikai' with its wonderful funny story and a (silly?) happy ending I ended up watching tragic stories also. sorry, but I am not a masochist... I cannot find any pleasure in watching sad and intricate stories which begin with nothing and end in nothing. was I mistaken in the Star Troupe?

BTW, is it only me who feels that the meeting of Jose and Carmen in the bar is a little bit overly... how shall I put it... well, at least it doth not suit the music, which seemeth to have more deep feelings than that plain passion shown. oh, that meaneth - the name of the musical is quite right - 'tis about passion, not love

'twas some 20 or 30 minutes from the beginning when I realized I am no more interested in watching it, though I was quite happy with the plenty of love scenes, as I was longing very much to watch something romantic. however, the rest (which was about an hour) flew beyond my mind, and I was only waiting for it to end, as I am not used to dropping what I have begun

who was 'lighting the way' is Michaela, a nice girl destined to suffer for nothing, the type I always feel sorry for and this sympathy seemeth to be greater than feelings towards other characters. I only wanted to ask if it is ok to ask a former girlfriend to look after thy mother

unlike the doubtful Gerard, Jose was firm in his choice when he was offered to stay with Carmen abandoning his previous life. this kind of decisiveness is much better than that tragic parting of 'Too Short a Time'. and the same firmness he showed when killing Garcia. impressive. not in the positive sense, however >___<

and Carmen herself... I was always interested in the kind of people who 'respect freedom' and say that they do not want to belong to someone, as I cannot understand them, being a completely opposite type. well, if they want to have fun in such a manner, I have no right to restrict them...

with the plot progressing, the misunderstanding progresses as well. I cannot see any reason why a person who loves cannot wait for a response, and I can see no reason why not to response, when loving and being loved. I could not even understand the feeling of being grateful to the mother for being born, as no one asks to be born actually...

and of course, the bombast of killing thy beloved because of a 'small misunderstanding' is very, very touching...... or so they thought? o___O

the more I watch, the lesser I understand. in the end, all that was left is... 'wha?'

my applause when the performance ended was as loud as that of the audience. as I was happy to see this nonsense stopping

siennas on the stage

Hisaki Seara-san. with both a cute face and a nice voice (which is again of the type I envy so much, with the 'high speed vibrating') she could be a really outstanding sienna, if not for her retirement. hath she got married? for example...

Nene-chan playing such a strong and dangerous woman was also an attractive thing. not that I like a person who can easily stab a woman with a knife, but looking onto a different Nene was fun. BTW, it took me a long time to understand that a Japanese is not a gypsy. oh, that's not what I wanted to say. are we not quite used to siennas being really great on the stage and having thousands of manifestations? this time Nene-chan was really as close to a real gypsy as she could be, and I consider it a really hard thing to do. we already know lolitas dressing in french clothes, we also admire otokoyaku in suits, but a Japanese girl wearing a long big skirt in flowers, and what's more important - behaving like a real gypsy - this should not have been so natural for me, as I have payed no attention to this fact when watching 'Passion' for the first time. this meaneth, Nene-chan is cool. well, a negative thing - on the other hand, I only conrmed my conclusion that this type of character is not for Nene-chan... better to say, for me watching Nene-chan. the problem is not her being a product of a completely another society, but 'tis just that this role doth not suit Nene-chan's personality, as fas as I imagine her

Yumeno Seika-san... I feel so sorry for not being able to appreciate her on the stage... she obviously is talented and she plays quite good, I am truly fascinated by the scene of her looking onto Carmen dancing - such a trifle, but portrayed so nicely... and still, I feel as if I dislike her, without any obvious reason. well, the only thing, she was breathing while portraying the dead Escamillio and it was very uncovered... ^.^ but that's not a thing to reproach a sienna, eh? after such an energy requiring dancing, she could not help breathing, which is quite natural. what is more important, I am not very delighted with her voice..... >___<

Yuzuki-sama portraying a bull. nice

well, though I did not like the characters, at least I should state the artistic skills of the main siennnas are perfect. such a strong passion is n their voices when they shout or cry, and in their movements, and the way they look onto each other...

another thing which bothers me is that while Ouki-san is absent, I cannot find any interesting siennas to look on, apart from Top Combi and Suzumi-san

the last question of mine. why such dresses??? the men outfit is completely ok, but both in 'Passion' and in 'Gypsy Baron' gypsy girl are dressed in idk what... I am not saying I am specialists in gypsy clothing, but I daresay I have an image of it, and meseemes, the Zuka costumes leave... well, leave something to be desired...

my humble opinion: ’Love Potion -an aphrodisiac of love- II’ by Star Troupe (2011)

of course 'tis great! 'twas a show by Moon Troupe (I would kill for the Moon version with my beloved Suzukaze-sama as nibante >______<)

apart from jokes, the show is really nice. as for now, my theory about the musical-revue correlation proves to be quite true. let me repeat my humble opinion: the worse the musical, the better the revue. vice versa, the greatest of the musicals do not have any revues at all, as the revue is turned into a small ending, not a separate piece of art. well, there are cases of perfect perfection, of course, when both the musical and the revue are great.

considering this particular revue, what I would like to note is

the music

the 'ru puazon' theme is very impressive and seemeth to be quite as we would like the main theme to be, eh?

meanwhile, Star goeth on covering famous themes. well, they alll do this, but the ones I have heard up until now were the jazzy melodies, but what we see in Star performances doth not stop to surprise me

let me say a couple of words about the covers in this revue. and about dancing ^.^

considering the 'Tristan and Isolda' scene, if I am not mistaken (and I am quite sure I am not) Nene-chan sings a kind of a 'cover' on the famous Intermezzo  from 'Cavalleria Rusticana' by  Mascagni. 'tis a melody I would recognize whenever and wherever, though I am ashamed I heard it in 'Rurouni Kenshin' for the first time... but I've seen the opera as well!

the second remark on this particular song - I believe it to be one of the most successful of Nene-chan so far.

and the dance of the two I believe to be one of tha brightest and cutest ever. that is why I feel this bright and cute couple should not take any overly tragic scenarios. these feeling of lightness and smiling suit them much better.

the cover by Ouki-san is also quite nice, but I am a little at a loss that the original vid on the song actually had a humanitarian trend in it... well, the song I dare to speak of is 'Another Day in Paradise' by Phil Collins. however, most of you probably heard only the sampled part of it in the Supafly's 'Movin' Too Fast'
BTW, Ouki-san seemeth to have the best candies there... I mean, she maketh the most curious covers, doth she not?

the next dance makes me wonder if 'tis not a cover again, but this time I can say nothing concrete about the song. on the other hand I can say about the dance... meseems, 'tis the first time I see such a dance by Yuzuki-sama and Nene-chan combi. and 'tis quite interesting to see the new image of them. and 'tis very nice to see once again what a wonderful couple they are ^.^

as fas as I understand, the scene with Spanish guys (yeah, there is some deep meaning, of course... but I do not get it by simply watching the scene, so let them be just Spanish guys...) is the beginning of new part which distinguishes the Love Potion II from the first edition. unfortunately, we cannot even judge what is the contents, as the vocal was cut >___< can anybody explain me the reason? Zuka was short of money and they bought the copyright of the song only for the live performance without the right to put it on the DVD? I wonder, if such a case is possible... if not, then what? ^^`

conclusion

I sincerely regret about Ouki-san being transferred... is it the case when nibante was moving too fast and thus had to transfer to the Troupe with the one of the nearest possible Top Star retiring? well, I still regret about the collapse of the wonderful Yuzuki-sama-Ouki-san duo dances and trio ones with Nene-chan

my humble opinion: ’Too Short a Time to Fall in Love’ by Star Troupe (2011)

introduction

this time it was not deliberate. I simply checked what I have in my Zuka folder and somehow I remembered that I was interested in the performance named 'Too Short a Time to Fall in Love' from the very moment I read its name for the first time. and somehow it turned out to be Star again. meseems, I shall watch all of the performances by Star available, to get acquainted with the troupe, as I have already began to do this. however, I am afraid I am actually too fond of the Yuzuki-sama-Nene-chan-Ouki-san group on stage. shall I be able to watch performances of the earlier Star?

I wonder how Yuzuki-sama became a Top after Aran-sama. is she (Aran-sama, I mean) not the 'affected' type, the one appealing to the public with her 'suffering' image? though her voice sounds too warm for that kind, I should admit (and actually, it was her voice what made me think better of her)

on the other hand, Yuzuki-sama and Ouki-san seemed to be such great partners. I begin to feel sorry Ouki-san was transferred...

the plot of the show

this time I feel much better. this is the kind I like, the one with many funny moments and characters destined to entertain the audience, as well as serious moments which really make my heart beat fast.

we are all fond of kissing-hugging-dancing-whatever, in terms of' 'rabu-shiin' but this time all this was replaced by a heart-gripping dialogue between the main characters. actually, after the dialogue in the middle of the show I already felt I did not need anything else. how surprised I was when I saw we have more of that! O____O

BTW, I have already mentioned it but Nene-chan seems to be apt to crying on the stage. though there are plenty of sad moments in the shows, methinks, I have seen such real tears literally falling down the musumeyaku's cheeks for the first time.

still, the end spoils it all. my honourable opponents may persuade me as long as they want, I shall never believe that those two should be separated. it is always up to thyself to decide, what is precious to thee, whether it is being with someone you love, or not. in other words, I cannot believe there was nothing they could do with the situation.

those arguments mean nothing to me. what is this? 'I shall never forgive myself' answers Claudia when Michael offers that he stays with her. she thinks he would be better becoming a rich owner of a company, having married with another woman, though he stats the opposite. hey, doth she even believe he loves her? if she doth, how can she say such things?

'for the sake of yours and the future that waits for you' sayth Anthony to Michael. he doth understand it well, of course, he is an expert, he knows better what Michael needs, eh? what a nonsense.

could anyone explain me what the good point of such performances is? the 魅力 of it, the appealing factors? why should I enjoy the story of people who make themselves suffer with their own hands? now with hands actually, with their decisions.

music

it hath been a whole day after I watched 'Romeo and Juliette' and I should admit I like the music in that show, as it is energetic and hath a lot of passion within. still, I cannot accept it as a Zuka's performance.

'Too Short a Time to Fall in Love', however, doth not sound that great and I am certainly not aiming to download it and listen to it with my walkman. at the same time, I like it much better than 'RaJ'. why is that? I am at a loss.

on the other hand, I suddenly remembered of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' show, which was also a borrowed one - and sounded perfectly 'Zukish'. that makes me think, I was deeply wrong in thinking western musicals spoil Zuka.

where is the difference?

well, methinks the difference is the concept. the concept of the original SP book, the concept of the original musical seems to be very close to the one of the performances of Zuka. on the contrary, the concept of 'RaJ' seems to suppose too 'affected' performing. yes, there are strong feelings in the performances of Zuka, but they are of another kind. mehopes, they are.

the fact I dare to consider as a proof is that the end of 'RaJ' was so 'Zukish'. this means, they could not leave the musical as it was, they could not help making it more 'native'. and the ending really seemed to be in a contradiction with the main story.

what I would like to add is that the person who translated the name of the performance should face the shooting squad, or quartered, or...

now that was a joke. I am just angry about this variant of translation which affects the whole concept. it is NOT 'too short a time TO FALL IN LOVE' but 'too short a time TO LOVE', which means than the main characters had only 4 days to spend together, NOT that they were trying very hard to fall in love with each other and were not able to do this during such a short period. or did I get something wrong?

conclusion

having enjoyed so many sweet minutes of both the love scenes and the comedy moments, I was hoping so much to have a happy ending of a sensible people deliberately choosing the path of being together. I did not get it. if I were asked to perform in 'Too Short a Time to Fall in Love' I would refuse after reading the scenario. nothing could be more ridiculous. it reminds me of my lovely Moon performing 'My Love Lies over the Mountain' which was quite weak even in comparison with 'The Man from Algiers' which also had a bad ending, but seemed to be just a little more logical

to smoothen the bad impression, let us remember the cute moments. actually, I am too lazy to cut all of them, so let me show my favourite one. if only I got it right...
first, they are saying 'ka mo ne' which means 'maybe', and then we have the usual play on words - 'ka mo ne' turns into 'come on yeah, baby' and then goes even further - 'shake it out, babeee~' ^.^

my humble opinion and some thoughts in general: 'meet again' - 'Soul of Shiva' (2009) by Star Troupe

I was hoping to watch it for a while, since I watched the 'love scene ranking' and noticed the funny and at the same time funny moment from this performance.

_____

by the way, I never expressed my gratitude to the source of my everyday delight, so I feel a little ashamed. that is why I would like to thank all the contributors of the community and groups.

_____

let me proceed to the show itself.

voices

while the voice of Yuzuki-sama was already familiar to me (and I happen to like it), the voice of Nene singing was a thing covered in mystery.

the first impression was bad and I thought she is really a boring singer, but several minutes of listening to her have changed my mind. the situation seems to be quite the opposite and Nene-chan really has one of the most unique voices, I daresay. though she is obviously not destined to sing tender songs like an ethereal angel, it is not that we really asked her. the funny songs, as well as funny lines, are quite good, and meseems, she is good at being funny. however, the type of singing which will reveal her true nature, as I dare to suggest, is the traditional Japanese singing. I am already looking forward to watching a show based on a story about ancient Japan with her. too bad if she disappoints me then.

at the same time, her voice reminded me of that of Yuki-chan. actually, I believe their voiced to be of the same kind.

actually, I believe the Troupes to be quite alike. watching the revue 'soul of Shiva' made me think the abandoned hilarity of both performances was really similar to the one in the Moon shows. though, I cannot decide whether it is good or bad. well, as I can enjoy it now, I would prefer to count this as a good thing.

Ouki-san....... >____< never knew her voice would be that funny....... what's that, eh? I supposed her to be one of the 'brutal' kind, though different in the real life, but she is too cute, both as herself, and on the stage...... meseems, if only she becomes the Top of Cosmos, she would really save the Troupe for me... mehopes, not only for me, as it is obvious that Cosmos is boring, as for now. IMHO, as usual, as this opinion is based on almost nothing

well, a couple of words about the music

actually the story in 'saikai' is much more attractive than the music, as I did not like even a single song there, in terms of a song being a separate piece of art.

the revue was much better. the more I was smiling in respond to the cheerful singing and dancing in the beginning, the more shocking it was to see the scene of jealosy with such a touching singing.

the next song - sung by Ouki as far as I remember - seems quite familiar to me but unfortunately I have no idea what it could be, to say nothing of where and when I could have heard it. I should say it was really beautiful.

what came next was a real >________<

I knew they make covers on different songs in Zuka, from 'Puttin' on the Ritz' (which is quite expectable, as it suits the general style of a revue) up to Yuzu's song called ’虹’ (niji) - both of them are present in 'Dance Romanesque'.

BUT. who knew they would cover COLDPLAY?????????????

I cannot say I like the Zuka's version very much but the one thing which is inevitable every time I watch a revue - the shock and surprise, the delight and simple LOL as a result. if I could ever express my appreciation and respect to the directors of the shows....... they are so inventive and full of such brilliant ideas - covers of popular songs, orchestra versions of old hits, playing on words, sudden developments on the stage... OMG, how much I would like to thank them all.

it was only yesterday when I understood whay I love the most in a revue - apart from the parade which makes me cry almost every time. it is the standard otokoyaku dance, which is placed somewhere before the end of the revue, as fas as I can judge.

the accuracy and synchronicity of their movements is simply adorable. nothing odd, nothing out of tune, no awkward gestures... this perfection coupled with the music - which is resembling a march, but is not a march actually - makes me almost swoon, as it smells of the confidence and firmness which makes all the people on stage seem so reliable and strong...... T____T

I am pretty sure they are allmighty heroes. yes, certainly. all those siennas in Zuka.

thank you so much, minna.

_____

a small update

a one big LOL here

Which of these revue staples is your favorite?

the dance I mentioned is an undoubted LEADER

are not the fangirls over the world united in their preferences???

my favourite moment in the show is when Gerard is shouting offensive words and then pretending to have said nothing

'just tidying up, tidying up...'